Fawell Keeps The Gop Faith While Voting His Conscience

WASHINGTON — In the last-minute flurry to sway votes on the MX missile last year, Rep. Harris W. Fawell (R., Ill.) was one of the last to decide.

``I was just cogitating away. Everybody had overlooked me . . . I guess I`m easy to overlook,`` said the freshman congressman from Naperville. ``At the last minute the whip called, and as a result I was able to have a one-on- one with the President.`` He pointed to pictures of the event on the wall of his modest office.

President Reagan tried to convince Fawell of the importance of the MX in the triad of weaponry by approaching him as one Midwesterner to another:

``You`re a farmer, aren`t you?`` said Reagan. ``Have you ever tried to milk a cow on a three-legged stool with just two legs?``

Politely, Fawell said nothing about his ignorance of farming matters, and he voted reluctantly along party lines for the MX--not because he was convinced it was the most effective weapon, he said, but because he wanted Reagan to have it as a bargaining chip at the arms-control talks in Geneva.

Harris Fawell is no farmer. Rather, he is a lawyer, a former assistant state`s attorney, 14-year veteran of the Illinois Senate and a member of one of Du Page County`s best-known political families (his father was mayor of West Chicago and his brother was chief judge of the Circuit Court). The district he represents in Congress includes affluent portions of Du Page, Cook and Will counties as well as the high-tech corridor that is home to the Argonne National Laboratory.

When Republican Rep. John Erlenborn retired in 1984, Fawell used a strong showing in Du Page County to overcome eight other candidates and win the Republican primary. It was tantamount to victory in one of the staunchest Republican districts in the nation.

His election disappointed some national conservative leaders because Fawell does not always vote strictly along party or conservative lines. A fiscal conservative, he describes himself as a ``moderate`` on social issues. For instance, he is pro-choice on the sensitive abortion issue.

``I don`t favor it as a method for birth control, but I think it is better not having the government telling families what they can do in this area,`` he said.

Because of his ``deep respect for public education`` Fawell said he also opposes prayer in public schools. His wife, Ruth, teaches in the Naperville public school system.

Fawell supports an across-the-board freeze for the budget, including military spending, and favors a comprehensive test ban on nuclear weapons.

``That`s the way to stop the arms race,`` he said. ``If you can`t test, you can`t manufacture. Without it we will always be looking down a gun barrel of our own creation.``

Rep. Robert Michel (R., Ill.), House minority whip, said Fawell`s views demonstrate the broad spectrum in the Republican Party, and he doesn`t object to Fawell`s voting ``his conscience.``

``Harris believes in the basic foundations of the Republican philosophy

--economic growth, jobs and opportunity without government intrusion into our lives,`` Michel said. ``Harris received an 85 percent presidential support rating for last year. His strong advocacy of freezing federal spending provides a good example of his work against the tax-and-spend policies of the Democrats.``

As proof of the Du Page congressman`s fiscal conservatism, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gave him a 95 per cent ranking his first year in office, the highest among all his peers. Fellow Illinois Republicans Phil Crane, John Porter and Henry Hyde trailed, earning 82, 82 and 74 percent, respectively.

The chamber ranking is based on how politicians vote on issues that the organization believes are ``critical to American business and free

In contrast, the more liberal organization, Americans for Democratic Action, rated Fawell`s performance just 15 percent on issues that group found important.

Like many congressmen with state legislative experience, Fawell has adjusted quickly to the Washington arena, Michel said. He received both of his choices for committee assignments--the ``not-too-sexy`` Science and Technology Committee and the Education and Labor Committee.

He chose Science and Technology because his district includes Argonne Laboratory and borders the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. During his first year in office, Fawell was instrumental in maintaining Argonne`s budget at the previous year`s level, fending off proposed cuts of $46 million and avoiding a reduction for the first time in seven years.

The choice of Education and Labor reflected concerns he developed as chairman of the Education Committee in the Illinois Senate, where he helped make Illinois one of the first states to pass mandatory education for handicapped children.